A Dog and a Pair of Sunglasses
by Bright Anarchy
Summary: Robin's sunglasses hide more than his identity. Visually impaired, Robin struggles to keep the aster in Robin because Dick Grayson is just not terribly whelming. A legally blind misfit geek with a dog cooler than he is? Why in the world does Bruce wonders why being Robin sounds so much better.
1. Aveugle

**This writing is terrible. In this chapter, I abuse google translate. I haven't bothered with a beta or careful editing. I invent nonsense medical stuff because I can't be bothered to research into realism. I tell a story that's been told a million times before. I tick people off by staying to close to canon while changing little stuff because it suits my fancy. I wax poetic at a weird moment. Umm... And I hid a oddball quote by Markus Zusak.**

 **Italicized words are spoken in French but typed in English for clarity**

Bruce had seen the acrobats fall. The beautiful little family he had spoken with not more than an hour ago at the private meet and greet which was a part of the fundraising event.

"I say hallo me name be Grayson Richard. Meeting plezure is Mr. Wayne. I have fantastique my do I show to you," the friendly little boy had excitedly declared when Bruce asked to meet him.

Mary Grayson had proudly ruffled the small boy's hair. "He speaks quite a few languages due to our travels. He is just learning English. When ever he is trying to learn a new language word order can be a challenge. We just came from an Asian tour. The spectators there were very enamoured with him."

Asia, Bruce had thought with a smile, that explained why the child had put his last name first. Mary's accent had sounded vaguely French.

All of that endearing self confidence was shattered with grief, horror and shock. Though Bruce did not speak Romani the paramedic and police officer trying to speak to the child, only spoke English.

Bruce knelt next to Richard and was frantically asked, "La mère et le père vont bien se passer? Un médecin peut-il les réparer?" (French: Are mother and father going to be alright? Can a doctor fix them?)

"Ils ne peuvent pas être réparés. La vie est partie d'eux." (French: They cannot be fixed. The life is gone from them.) Bruce answered softly.

The circus was frantic with tears and sirens and hysterical voices. The strong man in tears spoke to Richard in Russian. "Teper' oni s Bogom." (Russian: They are now with God) He kissed the boy on the head.

Richard confided in Bruce, "Eto to, chto g-n Zucco imel vvidu svoimi ugrozami. YA videl yego s instrumentami ryadom s oborudovaniyem dlya trapetsii." (Russian: This is what Mr. Zucco meant with his threats. I saw him with tools near the trapeze equipment.)

A Japanese aerial silk artist interrupted them but she whispered to the child and Bruce did not know what she said.

Richard pleaded with Bruce, "Kare wa kore de nigete wa naranai. Watashi o tasuketekudasai." (Japanese: He must not get away with this. Please help me.) The child wanted him to help talk to the police.

He was taken by a social worker who spoke only English and made no effort to communicate with the little boy who was so desperate to communicate he was frantically calling out in every language he knew. He pulled away from the social worker entreating Commissioner Gordon. "I showing bad boy do bad doing you! I named be Grayson Richard. I have seeing of bad boy! Bad doing mami, dad! There! There!" Richard frantically pointed to the trapeze wires.

Bruce looked over. Some equipment he always had on him. He used the cuff link camera to take some photos and a small evidence bag and tweezers to take a small sample of wire fragment. Then he called the Commissioner over and told him the little acrobat had seen a man named Zucco tampering with the wires.

"It kills me sometimes how people die," spoke the Commissioner starring at the forsaken child.

Brucelet the police take over at the scene before flying home to change clothes.

At first Richard was taken to an orphanage. It wasn't great but it wasn't so bad. He'd sneak out at night and ghost around the back alleys of Gotham trying to learn who Zucco was. There was so much crime. Dick had never seen anything like it. He'd pull fire alarms and dial 911 on nearby payphones to bring help where it was needed. Not much of it made sense though with his English so poor.

He needn't have gone looking for Zucco. Zucco's thugs broke into the orphanage Richard was taken to. He was beaten and left for dead.

He woke in the medical ward of a juvenile detention centre. His vision was blurry and his balance wonky but because no one could properly talk to him and no one really cared, as soon as he could stand he was put in a cell with a twelve year old arsonist with mental health issues.

Batman was looking into the Grayson murder. He wanted to talk to the boy again. He needed more evidence and it had certainly sounded like Richard had information to share but he couldn't find him anywhere in the child welfare system.

Bruce had been having nightmares of the boy. He was being pulled into the shadows by an unseen assailant and he kept calling for help in different languages. There were dead parents falling into blood. Sometimes Bruce was Richard and when he called for help, he couldn't make a sound.

Batman outright asked Commissioner Gordon for information on the Grayson boy.

Alfred noted that Batman came home in a rather dark mood. At breakfast while Bruce stared into his coffee and stabbed his eggs rather then eating them Alfred had finally had enough.

"Master Bruce something has been bothering you for sometime now. Your already abysmal sleep patterns have suffered. The china is getting scratched by your angry knife work and my boy you've not said two words to me in weeks."

"He was beaten and left for dead and then they put him in protective custody in juvie," spat Bruce.

"Who Master Bruce?"

"The bright clever little acrobat. His parents died. He was right there and saw it all. He spoke to me in four different languages if you include his faltering attempt at English. He asked me for help. He was missing a tooth on the top. His eyes were blue like the Mediterranean sea where the ocean shelf drops off into the abyss."

"Oh dear." Poetic language was a terrible sign.

"I'm going down to take to his social worker. The security here is tighter than a kid's detention centre."

"Master Bruce?"

"Let's go, Alfred. The Towncar with the tinted windows I think."

Alfred stopped at a baby store and picked up a car seat. He stopped at the grocers for extra milk. He was stalling. Master Bruce hadn't slept or eaten well in days. Alfred wanted to give Bruce a little extra time to wake and sort himself out before jumping into this traumatized child's life but Bruce passed out in the back seat like a toddler on a car ride. When they got to the Children's Aid Center Bruce snapped awake.

"Are you sure about this Master Bruce?"

"It's just until a better solution then juvie can be found," protested Bruce.

The news when they talked to Children's Aid was not good. Even if they did want to step in it would take months before Bruce could be checked out and vetted to take a child into his home. They agreed to let Bruce meet with Richard. A supervised visit was a first step.

Bruce with Alfred trailing dutifully along was taken into a small dark meeting room in the detention center with bars on the windows and flickering florescent lights. It smelled of sweat and industrial floor cleaner. The room was uncomfortably cold. Richard was shoved roughly into the room by a bored looking guard. He tripped into one of the wheeled office chairs and stumbled awkwardly to the floor before gingerly getting himself to his feet. He was covered in still healing bruises and swayed slightly. He kept his head up straight and his shoulders back with determination.

"Richard please sit," suggested Bruce horrified at the boy's condition and treatment.

Dick felt his way along the table to the chair and pulled it around. He felt where the chair back was then felt to check nothing was on the chair pad before carefully sitting down.

Alfred stepped forward and knelt in front of the child taking one of his hands then looking at his eyes and gently feeling through his hair. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Please tell what fingers is,.. are?" asked Dick softly.

Bruce decided on French because Mary had looked vaguely French. He learned about Zucco's men. Richard's roommate who liked to shove. He learned no one had been trying to talk to the boy. They'd let him out of the infirmary having made no effort to diagnose a serious head injury that had severely effected his sight and balance. With someone finally talking to him, Richard started to tremble trying to withhold tears.

"Mr. Wayne-sama?" asked Dick finally recognizing the voice. They had skipped over the introductions in the shock of seeing the small boy's condition. Dick gave small smile and looked towards the familiar voice. Richard bowed a formal Japanese bow. "Dumo arigatō gozaimasu, for night of death. For,..." Richard signed "speak" in American Sign Language and "for mouth work?" He looked so lost and frustrated. "Merci beaucoup de parler avec moi." (French: Thank you very much for talking with me.)

It was clear to Bruce that the boy desperately wanted to speak his native tongue. No matter the language he tried, the words he wanted were not right. They did not feel right so he flipped through the languages knew that he thought Bruce understood trying and trying to communicate. He must have felt so terribly lonely, confused and isolated.

Bruce glanced at his unflappable British butler. Alfred's eyes were suspiciously glossy. Bruce had lost feeling in his hands he was clenching his fists so hard. Richard's treatment had him furious but this was not the place for anger. Richard had done nothing to warrant it.

The social worker looked at her watch impatiently. "I'm sorry Mr. Wayne but that will have to be all for today." She gave the guard a brisk nod. "You may return him to his cell now."

"Gently!" protested Mr. Wayne when the guard yanked the child away. Bruce looked at Alfred. The dark fury of Batman flickered in his eyes for a moment followed by an entreating gaze Alfred had not seen from Master Bruce since Bruce had himself had been eight.

Alfred straightened. "Ms. Levit I was vetted and cleared to act as a foster parent for Master Bruce after he suffered a similar loss to young Richard Grayson. Perhaps I could act as an interim Foster Parent until Master Bruce's clearance can be expedited. I should be already in the system."

The social worker looked surprised. "I suppose that might work but we'll need an updated Police Check. They can usually be acquired in about a week's time."

Bruce giving the social worker a steely eyed glare, hit Commissioner Gordon's number on his speed dial. "Jim it's Bruce. Can you get me a Police Check for Alfred Pennyworth. I've been to see Richard Grayson. He needs immediate medical care. They have him in the one of the big JDC's. It's terrible Jim..." Bruce stepped into the hall to talk privately with the Commissioner.

In less than half an hour, the paperwork had been faxed through. In twenty minutes more, they were leaving with Richard. Bruce had to carry him to the car. He could barely walk on his own. They called Doctor Leslie to meet them at the manner. After a quick initial examination, they were back in the car headed to hospital for an emergency MRI.

Bruce explained what was happening in French and sat talking with Dick as he liked to be called. Dick was teaching him Romani and Bruce helping him with English. For right now Bruce didn't stress the English. There was enough else going on.

The remainder of the day was spent doing testing of some form or another. Finally while Richard slept exhausted in a private room in the pediatric wing of the hospital hooked up to an IV that was administering fluids and an assortment of medications, Doctor Leslie took Bruce and Alfred aside to explain the findings.

"There is significant swelling due to the head trauma. At the moment his vision is badly disrupted. He can discern only movement, bright colours, light and dark. The prognosis is not good with how poorly he's been treated since the initial injury but he may yet regain some vision. He was showing signs of malnutrition and dehydration. From what you have relayed of his treatment it seems unlikely that he was physically capable of seeing to even his most basic needs given the circumstances."

"His cracked ribs from the initial assault are still healing but the head injury is the worst of it. Things will get slightly better as the swelling in his brain goes down. I'd like to keep him in hospital for at least a week to monitor the head injury and stabilize his physical condition. I haven't really even begun to address the emotional trauma of all of this. He is going to need a lot of help getting through this. With the medication and the head injury he will sleep a lot. Everything that can be done to reduce his stress needs to be done. Expect persistent head aches and potentially nausea. Head injuries tend to increase testosterone production to the point where it modifies behaviour, expect a short temper and rash behaviour. He needs to be watched for seizures or other signs of neurological damage."

Zucco had done it, thought Bruce. He'd damaged the one witness severely enough that if Zucco was brought to trial, Richard wouldn't be able to positively ID him unless he did miraculously regain sight.

"I don't want him to need to fear Zucco anymore," Bruce spoke softly, thinking quickly. He called Commissioner Gordon to put a plan into place. Actually he made quite a few calls.

Richard slept a very long time. When he woke he could feel the warm sun on his face.


	2. A Child in Wayne Manor

**The hidden quote of the day is by Roy Bennet. There is also a Romani saying that I assume is spelt phonetically as Rom doesn't exactly have a written form, at least that's my understanding of Rom. The story is still only barely mine but well... the kids were hanging off each word of it so if someone can enjoy it I might as well post it. For all the fuss I go to get Richard a dog ... the dog is decorative to the story.**

" _Good morning Richard,_ " spoke Bruce in French. " _Because your head is still healing we are going to stick to speaking French for now. Your mother was French and your father was Romani correct._ "

"Oui Monsieur." The young boy's French was accent-less.

" _Did you speak French at home?_ " continued Bruce in French. The whole conversation proceeded in calm French.

" _Sometimes, but mostly Rom."_

" _Alfred is here as well and a new friend of mine that I would like you to meet. Do you like dogs?"_

Richard nodded.

" _Ace can be your helper while you are having trouble seeing. He is actually a retired police dog. His trainer took a job in another country and had to leave him behind. He's not old for a dog but he is very clever."_ Bruce didn't explain to Dick the article that had gone into the newspaper about the tragic loss of sight of the only witness and how it had destroyed the case the police were building against their only suspect, a known mobster. It had been impossible to acquire a seeing eye dog overnight but Commissioner Gordon had offered help in a different form. Ace had been easily able to pass the public safety test, although admittedly he would need further training to act as a seeing eye dog. He could at least legally wear the uniform and pretend to play the part. They wanted to make a big deal to the public about the loss of sight so Dick wouldn't be a target anymore. Bruce hoped the dog could also be a friend to the boy.

Ace was brought forward. He put his head and paw on Dick's leg. Dick reached forward and pet him smiling.

" _I would like to learn English so that I can speak for myself and understand what is going on,"_ spoke Dick though he was still almost completely focused on the dog.

" _A bruised brain needs rest to get better so Doctor Leslie thought sticking to a language you were familiar with was better for now. Alfred and I will be sure you learn English but we need to go slow until your headaches get better and the dizziness goes away. When you are better. We will speak only English together until you are fluent."_

In English Dick answered. "Is good. I do."

Dick had to wear dark glasses for now to prevent damaging his eyes as they were having trouble reacting appropriately to light. Bruce brought in experts to help teach both Dick and Ace. At the end of the week Alfred and Bruce got to take Richard home. For the trip, a large impossible to miss padded bandage was wrapped around Dick's eyes. _"To protect your healing eyes from light,"_ explained Bruce. _"When you are home inside we can switch back to the glasses."_ Leslie helped but she looked uncertain about Bruce's plans to make such a big deal of the vision loss.

Bruce was born a pessimist. He assumed recovery was hopeless. A blind child in a corner of the mansion wasn't a burden. It made a Batman unveiling very unlikely. Dick was safe. He had done what he could.

He didn't expect the exhausted, ill and invalid child to rebound as quickly as he did. The first little while the child was rarely awake for more than a few hours at a time and the most active he got was too softly and awkwardly pad through the house holding on to Ace for both comfort and stability. Ace kept Dick away from hazards but Ace's tail took out a Ming vase and two Royal Doultan figurines. Alfred had a long job scouring the house for expensive obstacles at tail or cane level.

Bruce was surprised when the tired, quiet, tentative child started to change.

He didn't expect a dog and boy to rush to greet him when he came home from work.

He didn't expect a child to tiptoe into his bed after nightmares invading his private spaces and his resting hours.

He didn't expect to come home to Alfred and Richard dancing the twist in the foyer only to be pulled in and encouraged to boogie on down Bruce. The tango with an eight year old was the last thing he expected.

He didn't expect to start to look forward to it.

French started to feel like a comfortable old pair of shoes and the manor and the little boy waiting for him there were his secret indulgence. Though Dick had woeful lows when the grief and loss and terror of all that had happened would bring him to his knees, he was essentially a happy hopeful person who derived joy from bringing others happiness.

Alfred gently helped the child with his English though they still spoke mostly French. Leslie insisted the brain injury wasn't ready for strenuous learning and Dick had so much to learn just to function without sight. Alfred helped him learn to be tidy and organized because the thing you wanted that wasn't put where it belonged, was lost forever in the empty dim blur of the huge old house. Alfred tracked Dick down and brought him back time after time when his explorations took him off to the far corners of the manor and suddenly exploring wasn't exciting but instead was frightening and lonely. Ace was still learning too. Alfred cleverly found all sorts of things Dick could still do for himself. He didn't let him feed all his broccoli to Ace. Sometimes Dick called Alfred, Puro Dad Alfi. Dick blushed and hid for the rest of the afternoon when Alfred asked him what it meant. Alfred mentioned it to Bruce after Richard had gone to bed.

"Grandfather, it means grandfather in Romani," explained Bruce with a slight smile. "I'm learning more Rom daily. I asked him what he thought of Gotham. His response, I hope I am pronouncing it right, it was: Jekh dilo kerel but dile hai but dile keren dilimata. As near as I can tell this means. One madman makes many madmen, and many madmen make madness. He's a clever boy. It describes Gotham well. I am at a stand still on Zucco. I think we'll need a confession. I think the best I may be able to do is get him brought in on other charges."

Richard had woken in a cold sweat with bad dreams. Standing outside the door to Bruce's study he thought on what he'd overheard. What was a confession? Was Bruce looking for Zucco? Why? Brought in on other charges? Was Bruce trying to do a business deal with Zucco? Stand still on Zucco... waking after a bad dream everything always seemed so much scarier than in the day. Richard silently slipped back to bed confused and scared.

In the morning Dick tried to use his computer to figure out what confession meant but even though he was getting better at finding the braille letters he didn't know how to spell confession. He tried the speech to text feature translating into French.

Did Bruce go to church with Zucco? Very confused but determined to find his parents killer Richard checked the day. It was Saturday.

"Alfred tomorrow go we to God's house please?"

Bruce, Alfred and Dick sat in the pew at church. Dick listened for Zucco, he sniffed to see if he could smell the sickly sweet scent of his cigar. The shapes and sounds and bustle of the church were terrifying. Bruce made him leave Ace at home. The sermon was in English rather than Latin. Dick threw up on his way out of the church and curled up in bed with a terrible headache when they got back to the manner. He slept the rest of the day.

"Maybe this was too much too soon chum," spoke Bruce gently petting the child's hair.

Dick wouldn't stop crying.

Dick's next vision test showed marked improvement. The doctor talked and talked. As long as his vision was still correcting at a rapid pace, glasses weren't recommended. After the doctor had left Bruce brought him into his study for a serious talk. Serious talks were still in French.

" _Richard, as long as the world thinks you are blind Zucco has no reason to come after you. The police commissioner and I have a plan. We want Zucco to be overconfident because he doesn't know you can identify him. Do you think you can keep your improving vision a secret?_ "

" _Not hard to do when everything is blurry still and I really want Zucco caught. I want Zucco caught more than anything. Can I work on English properly soon?"_

" _As soon as Doctor Leslie gives the okay."_

The eased into English lessons. Leslie yelled at Bruce for a good long time because Dick wouldn't cooperate with the visual testing anymore.

"Bruce if he can see with glasses, if his sight has stabilized, why wouldn't you want that for him. You realize that you've convinced an eight year old child that he has to be blind if he wants his parents killer to ever be brought to justice."

Bruce didn't believe in explaining himself.

Alfred tried to talk to Dick.

"Bruce has good idea Alfie. Bruce has smart and has trick for Zucco. I help."

"Dear child. You need to take care of yourself. The police will take care of Zucco."

"Bruce say catch Zucco happy day?" Dick tried to explain.

"Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other peoples hands," protested Alfred.

When Leslie thought Dick was medically stable enough, Bruce enrolled Dick in Gotham Academy. He chose G.A. mostly because it was the most secure school in the city. Dick had an aid to help him learn his way around. The smart boards all downloaded text to speech to his personal computer. Ace helped him get around. His grades weren't great at first. He was a blind ESL student, in school for the first time in his life. Dick struggled because there was just so much to learn. The other kids thought he was pretty stupid actually. They assumed he was mentally delayed in addition to being blind and speaking barely any English. It was a lonely time.

His aide figured out just how clever Dick was early on. The assistive technology Dick was working with, Braille, learning the school layout, how quickly he was picking up English, spatial awareness training, dog training. The aid insisted that Dick was scary smart and it was just a matter of time before everyone started to recognize it.

Bruce liked the aid's glowing praise of the boy but as time passed and still Batman had no luck bringing Zucco in finally Bruce admitted, "Alfred, we need to be able to protect him without limiting his opportunities. This has gone on too long. I'm concerned if he ignores proper eye care he may never be able to see again when he might have if we'd taken action early."

"Master Bruce, need I remind you that you put this idea in his head to begin with."

Dick was beyond stubborn but eventually Bruce managed to convince Dick to get a top secret, no one will know about it eye test and maybe, just maybe some super secret contact lenses, tinted so Zucco wouldn't recognize him if he was wearing them. Dick could use them to immediately identify Zucco when he was caught.

"Well?" Bruce asked the eye doctor who was playing along with the charade to ensure the cooperation of one very upset little boy.

"His vision has improved to the point where with some of the cutting edge technology coming out just now, it should be correctable. He is still extremely photosensitive so there are some special lighting requirements. Expect visual fatigue. He will only be able to tolerate this type of lens for a few hours a day so the visual impairment training should continue. At this point I would still recommend monthly eye exams. Laser vision correction is not an option. Expect to have to replace his glasses every few months as his vision profile wanders and with the current prescription they will be very expensive. You might want to put this off a few months."

Bruce wondered if the doctor had forgotten who he was talking to. Expensive eyewear was not an issue.

About a week later Bruce was sitting looking at Richard's now green eyes. The boy blinked uncomfortably. "They kind of sting a bit."

Bruce translated for Dick.

"If your head hurts right here, it's time to take them out. Remember clean hands Richard." advised the optometrist. "Those shouldn't be worn to bed. Please limit them to school hours only until we get a few eye tests back to back without movement in the prescription even if you don't find they are straining his eyes."

Dick reached up to rub at his eyes and was corrected by both Bruce and the Doctor.

"Order him the prescription sunglasses too. I want to be sure the stinging isn't an intolerance to contacts." Bruce whispered to the doctor. Right now Dick was wearing sunglasses and contacts. He got right up close to Bruce inspecting him in detail.

"You are blue eyes. Are big strong but I knowed that. Hands look ouch. Do work hands Bruce? Short nails. Two are blue, more ouch? Broke toes place on that shoe. Why broke? No lean on smart boards at school. Marker on coat. Hey! You eat donut! Say no donut me and you eat donut! What face paint for? You do show?" Dick prattled on.

Bruce smirked at Dick's observation. Yes he did tend to lean on the smart board at work and his left shoe always ended up scuffed because of how he sat at his desk. The tiny, tiny bit of powdered suger on his sleeve was from where he'd bought donuts for the tech department. He'd not been eating them. The bruises and calluses on his hands and nails were from the night work. "The make up is to hide kissing marks little man no more asking about that." Bruce grinned and tickled Richard a little to distracted him.

Dick giggled and looked to the optometrist with a cheeky grin. "Bruce kiss many, many ladies. He hot stuff! New lady last night? You stink pretty at breakfast."

"Hey you!" protested Bruce laughing.


	3. Mini Vigilantee

**The quote of the day is from Sailor Moon.**

 **Well, my son wanted to know what Angst was. This chapter, my dear is Angst.**

 **Picture all the bad, sad, hard stuff that happens as a layer of cold wet snow. Now choose to lay in it and make sad, sad, snow angels. That my son is angst. Crying and tears, sitting reading stories with a Kleenex box while sniffing. No, no leave me be I'm enjoying my angst. Can you get me a cup of tea? I'm just getting to the good part.**

Dick wouldn't wear the contacts to school or anywhere out in public. They hurt if he wore them for more then a few hours and he was still thoroughly convinced that Zucco would never be brought to justice if the mobster found out he could see.

Bruce had done something dangerous and he was completely unaware of it. He'd put an idea into Richard's head.

Dick had been going out looking for Zucco back when he was still in the orphanage. Now he could see again for at least a little of the day. He was the only one that knew what Zucco looked like. (A least that was Dick's mistaken understanding of what exactly was expected of him identifying Zucco) It was up to him to find the mobster. His disguise would keep him safe. In addition to the tinted contacts he needed something more. Dick looked in his closet, actually looked for the first time since coming to live at Wayne manor.

Every article of clothing he had looked like it belonged in a fashion magazine. That would not be discrete and he didn't want to ruin his good cloths. The contacts were hurting and he didn't need them in to play fashion model so he took them out. He rumaged through his battered suit case from the circus and pulled on stuff at random. The first night Dick snuck out through the dog door with enough change for the bus. When he was out in the dark he slipped his contacts back in. It was cold. He stopped at a used clothing drop off to find a coat he could wear in the seedier sections of Gotham. He needed something with a hood to hide his hair. The best he could do was a yellow rain slicker three sizes to big. He rolled up the sleeves started wandering. Catching a look at himself in the mirror he grinned a little. So that's why everything in his closet was black, grey and white. Dressing blind was a definite fail. Richard laughed and stuck his tongue out at his reflection. So much for discretion. The shorts had mermaid sequins. They were part of a performance out fit from the under-the-sea themed show he'd done in Japan. His mom got him the red sweater vest for Christmas pictures. She'd hand embroidered the R onto it for Richard. The green undershirt he'd worn during warm-up countless times. It was comfortable and soft. The yellow rain slicker at least hid the Santa's elf look he had going on. At least he didn't look like a walking dollar sign anymore.

It was a little scarier on the streets of Gotham when he understood the threats uttered by the street gangs. Where would an Italian mobster hide? The phone book had an Italian restaurant named Zucco's but it was a long walk.

Dick got shooed away from a perfectly respectable restaurant doing a slow night's business. By the time he'd checked out the restaurant, he had to head back to the manor to be sure he didn't miss the last bus which ran at midnight. There wasn't a lot of bus service out to the Manor.

Dick changed into pj's in the garden shed leaving his things there in a grocery bag. He pointed himself at the dog door took a wet wipe carefully cleaning his hands then taking out his contacts and blinking. It felt good to have them out. He put the contacts case in his pocket then crawled through the dog door.

" _Richard where have you been? I've been hunting high and low for you."_

" _I,... I went for a walk Alfie,"_ Dick blinked owlishly up at Alfred. The world was shadowed blurred colours again. Dick had felt so free with the contacts in but now that they were out he felt like he was finally out of a pair of shoes three sizes to small. The piercing strain of the contacts that had been building all night was a relief to leave behind.

" _Where is your cane? Where is Ace? Why were you sneaking through the dog door?"_

Dick had no answers. He sighed tired and frustrated. Errant tears escaped though he tried to hide them. Finding his parents killer seemed an impossible task. He didn't want to wear the horrible contacts ever again. The streetlights and neons signs had been blinding sharp stars but at least the shadows had been softer. He didn't want go to sleep to the bright full colour memories of horror then wake up in the morning to flat smears of flickering shadows. Zucco would never be found or maybe he'd just come kill him and everything would be over and things wouldn't be so hard. He was alone. The circus was gone. Mom and Dad were gone. He hadn't been on the trapeze in months.

He wasn't alone. He was being ungrateful. He had Alfred and Bruce. His parents hadn't raised him to show such ingratitude. He was forgetting everything important to them. Dick cried increasingly hysterical tears until two in the morning, unable and unwilling to explain his many dark and crazy thoughts. Alfred and then later Bruce sat with him until exhausted, he passed out.

The next few nights Dick hid under his covers. The lights were off but it didn't matter with his modified computer. He researched the name Zucco in old news articles. That man's name was Anthony Zucco. He he was part of the Maroni crime family. They dealt in extortion. Dick learned that word in English and memorized it. That was what had happened to his family. Extortion followed by murder. He went to community social internet sites and poked around. The anonymity of the internet had a lot of answers. Dick learned where he needed to look next. An Italian restaurant was not it. He trained Ace to pretend to be him sleeping in bed and timed when Alfred came to look on him. He had a two hour window of opportunity.

Dick snuck out again. He spoke Italian. He ran late night errands for people in the neighbourhood. He became familiar so that he blended into the background. He had run ins with gangs from time to time and some he could take on with martial arts and an acrobatic escape route. He learned where he could hide and who to stay away from. He still pulled a fire alarm or two or dialed 911 and ran when really bad stuff was going on but he began to notice 911 sometimes didn't respond or they slipped away with a pocket of money, a bottle of liquor or a sneer. Gotham...

Dick had been out every night for a week when he first saw the Bat. The Bat came sometimes when the police didn't. He helped Mrs. Celluci when the bad boys from the Red Snakes backed her into a corner and tried to take her rent money. The Bat was asking about the Maroni family too. The Bat took out the Harrison brothers who broke into the senior's apartment and stole all their drugs. Dick wasn't sure what the Harrison brothers wanted with old people drugs but it really wasn't nice.

Hiding and watching from one of his safe spots Dick learned that the Bat had a route he usually followed and when Maroni's people came to demand money off of the nice couple that ran the coffee shop on the corner Dick went and waved him down. When Batman didn't see the one guy with a knife Dick went ballistic. Batman was the only one who was trying to stop Maroni's men, like Zucco and Dick couldn't let anyone else be hurt. Batman pulled the small boy with the yellow raincoat off of the unconscious knife man.

"He's not allowed to hurt you!" Dick screamed in Romani twisting and flipping away.

Batman pulled back in shock. He knew only one little boy that spoke Romani. His little boy.

"Please can you talk to the little man," spoke the fellow who ran the coffee shop with his wife. "That boy, he's gonna get killed trying to right wrongs and triumph over evil. Talk to him."

Batman ascended to a roof. It was absolute foolishness, he couldn't believe it. He radioed back to the house. "Alfred this is important. Is Dick in bed?"

"Yes sir, of course he is," Alfred answered not long later. He could see the curled form and the soft movement of breathing under the covers.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

Alfred pulled back the covers? "My word. Ace? Where is your charge hound?"

A low woof echoed over the communicator.

Batman growled and Ace submissively backed under the covers.

It took a while but Batman found him again and silently watched as Dick made his way home. He watched as he changed in the tool shed then monkey climbed up the side of the manor house like it was his own personal jungle gym. He shorted the circuit on the burglar alarm on his window. Batman shook his head incredulous.

As Dick climbed into his room, Alfred sitting waiting in the chair by Richard's bed turned on the light.

" _Where were you?"_ asked Alfred in French to be sure there could be no misunderstanding.

Dick seemed to recognize that he was in a whole different level of trouble then he'd ever been in before but he stood as tall as his diminutive height allowed and said quite plainly. _"I'm going to find the man that killed my parents and he will be brought to justice. I don't know how though. A lot of the police are very bad men. Maybe Batman will help. Maybe the president. I don't know anymore. Maroni's men tried to kill Batman. I would not let them."_

" _I see."_ Alfred's name was still on the foster agreement. There was fire in the elderly butler's eyes. _"Tell me young man, this is very, very important to you?"_ He asked icily.

Dick nodded intensely then began explaining about Maroni's men and the Red Snake gang and the Harrison brothers and the cops taking bribes and the one cop he's seen punching a store owner because Falcone's man told him too and how Batman just about got knifed and Dick jumped down on the guy from a fire escape and clocked him one but that Batman seemed kind of upset and neither the police nor the fire department came when he pulled the fire alarm at the old folks home because the bad men were stealing their medicine and scaring them and it's not right to scare old folks because they might have a heart attack or something and...

" _If you are quite finished?!"_ snapped Alfred.

It was at this moment that Master Bruce who had changed with haste came into the room. Alfred levelled such a glare at him that Bruce looked away almost sheepishly.

" _You deliberately sneaked out misleading us into believing you were safe in bed. Lying in such a matter does not reflect well on you. You intentionally put yourself in danger. By your own admission the streets of Gotham are very dangerous. You are aware of mobsters, gangs, ruffians, inadequate and corrupt policing and yet you chose to sneak behind our backs and place yourself at risk gallivanting around out there. Would your mother approve of such behaviour?"_

A muleish expression settled on Dick's face. " _No, but she's dead and no one has stopped Zucco. They know his name and everything. He's just waltzing around hurting other people and it isn't right. I want to go home."_

" _Don't you understand you could be hurt or killed,"_ Alfred had lost this battle once before and he didn't mean to loose it again.

" _I'm already hurt and Zucco might as well of killed me. Nothing of my life is left. My family is gone. My friends are gone. I've not been in the air since my parents died. The Grayson legacy is grounded. We performed for royalty and world leaders. We were the number one ranked aerialists in the world. I was the youngest to ever master the quadruple. Now I'm just the weird stupid kid that hardly speaks any English. Did you know he was born in a circus? His parents were some kind of idiots swinging around without a net. They kind of got what was coming to them."_ It was late. Dick couldn't sustain his anger anymore and he started to cry.

" _They didn't ask for it. We were free. We were like birds in the air. I was their little robin. It's not the bird's fault when the hunter shoots it out of the sky. It's not!"_

It was very late at night and Bruce next did something quite out of character for him. He stepped forwards and pulled Dick into a hug. Except for sobbing, the room was quiet for a little while. Alfred might seem the original stoic but the shattering grief was so overwhelming it took him a moment to pull himself together. He stepped out of the room and came back in a few minutes with a warm milk, a cup of tea, cup of coffee, a plate of cookies and the picnic blanket. He laid the blanket on the floor and set out impromptu picnic.

" _Perhaps some light refreshment might help us all set ourselves at ease,"_ suggested Alfred lowering himself onto a stool.

"Ace SIT," ordered Dick just before the dog pounced on the cookies right at his level.

" _We want you to be safe,_ " spoke Alfred quietly.

" _Chum we can't keep you safe if we don't know where you are,"_ added Bruce.

" _The courts would remove you from our care if they learned you were sneaking out at night and we did nothing to stop it. Rightly so I'm afraid. A parent, even a foster parent has a duty to keep their charge safe and look after their welfare. My old bones ache with failure. You have no regard for your own well being do you Master Richard?"_

Dick was leaning exhausted against Bruce as he drank his warm milk but his sense of justice was still an unstoppable force. _"You're not a failure Alfred. It was me. I went out and all that stuff and I hid it. You've done so much for me. I don't even know words for everything you've done. I don't want to go back to jail. Is that why I was in jail? Because, I'm a liar and a sneak."_

" _You're a sweet boy that is struggling with problems not even grown ups can solve. You don't deserve to go to jail,"_ reassured Alfred.

" _The problems are so big even Batman has trouble with them,"_ spoke Bruce.

" _As near as I can tell, Batman's alone. No one can fix the entire broken world all by themselves. He must be so lonely. No one else helps. The nursing staff ran away. They didn't even try to help the old folks."_

Bruce felt something inside of him aching fiercely. _"Let us be there for you Dick. Sneaking away, you're turning your back on us. You're not even giving us the chance to help. I don't want to be lonely either. This big old house felt empty until you came. Give us a chance."_ Bruce waited in silence hoping his words would make an impact. When he looked down again though Dick was slumped against him fast asleep.*

"He shouldn't sleep with those contacts in," protested Bruce.

"It won't hurt for one night," answered Alfred starting to clean up.

Bruce lifted Dick into bed, slipped the child's shoes off and tucked him under the covers. Ace hopped up and curled up next to Dick.

Bruce and Alfred went down to the kitchen to talk but the entire conversation was in glares, shrugged shoulders, raised eyebrows, lowered eyebrows and gloomy looks of disappointment and displeasure, a frustrated turn of the mouth. The only vocalized words were.

"I'm going to bed."

"As you will Master Bruce."

Both sentences were clipped and furious.


	4. A League of Their Own

**Okay, enough of this nonsense. I filed this in YJ so I'll write a bit more about Rob on the team then call it done. As I mentioned in the fic description, this story has been told by better writers than me. I don't want to delve into retelling it. It's really all about the dog and a little bit of a what if about the sunglasses.**

Dick took the contacts out in the morning heading downstairs in silently feeling his way along. The click clack of Ace's toenails beside him gave away his presence.

" _Won't you wear the contacts to school Master Richard,"_ encouraged Alfred. If the boy had been sneaking out at night wearing them, surely they couldn't be that uncomfortable and this Zucco thing had to stop.

Dick didn't even bring up Zucco in his argument this morning. _"I've got a headache and the contacts were making it worse. I need my sunglasses. The lights are hurting my eyes. My tummy feels yucky."_ Richard fumbled along the shelf near the door feeling for his sunglasses.

Alfred sighed and passed the boy his sunglasses. Another migraine meant the child would be best only doing a half day of school today. It was no doubt triggered by the late nights and stress but whatever the trigger, the headache was there now.

Bruce recognizing that things were getting out of control asked a friend to try talking to Richard.

"Does he know about Batman?" asked Dinah.

"No and I'd prefer he didn't."

Dinah for a little while came every day to talk with Richard. It was the closest thing to psychiatry that Bruce felt comfortable with.

"Well Bruce, I have a few things to say. First you can't do what you've been doing with the contacts. Controlling his access to vision to moderate his behaviour is an abuse of power. His has a right to have his basic needs met. That means withholding food, medicine, shelter or in this case a medical device, all that sort of stuff is off the table."

"He refuses to use them appropriately. He complains they hurt, cause headaches and at the core of his argument is the Zucco thing," protested Bruce. "I just don't want him sneaking out and getting himself killed because I let him do it."

Dinah gave a sad smile of understanding. "You can't handcuff him to the bed either. Also not legal."

"I didn't! I wouldn't," protested Bruce.

"Sorry I was joking. I get that it fell flat, sorry," apologized Dinah. "There are other reasons he doesn't want to wear the contacts to school."

Bruce just raised a questioning eyebrow.

"He feels like Ace and his educational aid are two of his only friends right now. If he can see..?" Dinah trailed off.

"Is he really so desperate for friends? Dinah I'd let him keep the blasted dog! I want him to be happy!"

"A lot of this has to do with control too. His life has been very much out of his control recently," explained Dinah. "He's eight years old. Expecting it all to make rational sense is expecting too much."

"Are the headaches real or is that just because he doesn't want to wear the contacts. Do you even know?"

"They're real. He wanted to catch Zucco badly enough he was willing to ignore the headaches. He said when he wears them in the dark they don't hurt as much. It may be a light sensitivity issue but you'll have to talk to his eye doctor about that. And before you ask, I don't believe there are any psychosomatic issues."

"He'd rather be blind and in control of some small aspect of his own life," whispered Bruce. "It's his way of choosing his friends, taking action for his parents and just stubbornly saying no about something big that he feels he has a choice about."

"This may seem counter intuitive but don't force the choice on him. Let him win this one. Keep him supplied with contacts or glasses or whichever he'll agree to. You can gently encourage him but don't force this. He'll choose sight on his own eventually. From a mental health standpoint he needs this choice."

"How long do I let this go on?"

"As long as it takes. In a few months time if he hasn't come around make it a little more difficult to be complacent. Insist Ace can't go to school. If by next year he's still fighting this, well he's in a new grade he's no longer qualified for an aid. I think right now being ESL, new to school, having faced recent trauma and still recovering from a severe head injury he needs the aid but in a year's time things will be different. Talk to that eye doctor though. You can't and shouldn't bully him into the eye wear if there are serious discomfort issues."

"A year?" Surely I'll have caught Zucco by then thought Bruce. Dick won't even be in my care. That thought hurt. Dick's contacts cost a small mint. They'd had to be special ordered from the only lab that made them based out of Star City. His medical bills over the last few months had been high but things were getting better. Would he just settle in at Gotham Academy then have to be pulled into a new school just when he started to figure out how to make friends? Maybe who ever ended up his family wouldn't mind if I make sure he can afford the best eye care and I can get him a scholarship although his grades aren't good but maybe some kind of compassionate care scholarship?

"Bruce?"

"Sorry Dinah, was there something else?"

"You were a million miles away. What were you thinking?"

"I've only got a temporary guardianship. The idea was to keep him safe until Zucco was caught."

"I thought Alfred had his guardianship."

Bruce looked away. "On paper. He did it for me."

Dinah hid a small smile, "If you want a permanent guardianship apply for one. You've been happy Bruce. Don't deny it. Clark heard you in the monitor womb singing french lullabies. It's no crime to be happy and that little boy isn't going to find a home somewhere else. He's got medical problems, trauma issues, he's mixed race and ESL. The only thing Gotham has been able to place in years are cute healthy newborns. Best case scenario, in Gotham's system he'll end up in an orphanage until he ages out of the system."

Bruce frowned.

Dick had taken to practising martial arts in the gym. Even without the contacts he'd started practising floor level acrobatics again. Bruce being the perfectionist that he was, couldn't stand watching Dick without correcting him. Soon they were working together. The contacts were still sitting on Richards dresser but they practised martial arts anyway.

" _Why are you doing this?"_ asked Bruce in French. He seriously needed to know.

" _I'm going to help Batman catch Zucco,"_ answered Dick. _"First, I need to be able to defend myself then if I get really good I can help keep the bad guys from hurting Batman."_

" _I don't think Batman would want a little guy like you in danger,"_ protested Bruce. Dick was surprisingly good at the marshal arts. He was developing a very distinctive style. He couldn't help but toss a little circus in. There were flips and vaults but he'd keep contact with his opponent and was very good at fluid motion. He kept track of the obstacles in the room and used them to his advantage. Bruce would have loved to have seen him try marshal arts as a sighted athlete.

" _It also just feels good. I get too much stuff inside:feelings and frustrations. Moving, kicking, punching, flipping, it empties me out so I can think and breath. Does that make sense?"_

" _I started boxing after my parents were killed,"_ confessed Bruce. _"It makes sense."_ Bruce had no idea how Richard did it. He just talked about stuff. All you had to do was ask and listen. Bruce had never been able to do that but he found that for Richard he could make himself and it felt cathartic to have spoken of the darkness sometimes.

" _I'm good at it too,"_ teased Dickie with a smile as he managed to trip up Bruce and bring him crashing to his rear.

Bruce laughed and ruffled the boy's hair, "That you are chum." That little spark of pride and confidence that Dick had let shine had Bruce grinning for the rest of the day.

"Can I meet him?" asked Superman that night when Bruce was up on the watchtower for the monthly meeting.

"Who," demanded Batman stubbornly.

"The ray of sunshine that's been interfering with the cloud of gloom you usually try to carry around with you."

Batman or rather Bruce Wayne reluctantly found himself hosting a small dinner party. Clark, Barry, Diana, Dinah and Oliver Queen pretty near invited themselves over. Martian Manhunter stayed back to keep an eye on things in the watchtower.

"Sastimos Dinah," Dickie and Ace met Dinah and Oliver at the front door. "Who is at you? Hello my name is Richard Grayson. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"How'd you know it was me munchkin?" asked Dinah. She'd not prepared Oliver at all.

Richard looked in the general direction of Dinah's face and smiled. "Your stink is the little flower in the flower place that are beside a roses."

"Scent sweetheart, not stink. Stink is for a bad smell," corrected Dinah. "The flowers are called lily of the valley."

Dick repeated "Lily, Valley, Lily, Valley," a few times amused by the rhythm and rhyme of the words.

Diana arrive just about then.

"Another girl?" asked Dick.

"Yes this is Diana Prince," introduced Dinah.

"Hey?" protested Oliver who'd not been introduced.

"Hay is for horses?" answered Dick cheerfully. It was what Alfred said when ever he said hey.

"Richard, please show our guests in. It will not do to leave the front door flapping in the breeze," corrected Alfred who came to collect coats as it was raining outside.

"I thinked Prince comes first in English?" asked Dick confused. "The news said Prince Charles was visiting India."

"Prince is her proper family name young sir," corrected Alfred. "Diana as a female would be a Princess if a title were to be applied. Prince denotes male royalty."

"Female is girl, male is boy umm.. royalty is... I thought a royalty was money you paid to for using something," Dick declared frustrated.

Bruce who'd just appeared, clarified the issue with a quick smattering of French and Oliver still didn't get introduced. Alfred led them all into the Den. They'd only just arrived when Ace gave a sharp bark and pulled Dick back towards the door. The pair raced laughing to get the door.

Alfred looked at the security monitor to be sure it was one of their expected guests. "Richard and Ace do dearly love being first to the door." Alfred followed at a more stately pace.

"Hello, my name is Richard Grayson. It is my pleasure..." they could hear Richard introducing himself again.

"Hello there, my name's Clark Kent and who's this?"

Clark had gestured to the dog but Dick hearing the distinctive footsteps of Alfred coming up behind him answered, "His name is Mr. Alfred Pennyworth."

"And the dog?" prompted Clark with a smile.

"Ace," answered Dick.

The entire process was repeated again in fifteen minutes when Barry arrived. Ace made Barry sneeze so Dick had to switch to his cane.

"You didn't tell me the kid was blind," blurted out Oliver. Ace hadn't been wearing his vest. Dinah swatted him on the arm. Diana looked embarrassed on Oliver's behalf.

"I told you, you've been getting better at getting around," encouraged Bruce.

Dick just laughed and teased Oliver. "Dilo," he called out giggling.

"Richard!" corrected Bruce.

"I don't know the word," protested Dick.

"It is impolite in English or Romani," clarified Bruce.

Dick giggled but forced himself to calm. "Yes sir."

"What'd he called me?" demanded Oliver.

"He called you an idiot. I think he meant to be teasing given the giggle fit but it is still bad manners," explained Bruce.

Oliver snorted in dismissal. "Pfft, I've been called worse."

Grown ups talked about grown up things for a while which was boring. Dick couldn't sit still. He wiggled. He fidgeted.

"Dinah? Come see. I show you. I can do. Is good. Make Bruce go down yesterday and I do bars too. I show. I show." Richard fumbled through the group to pull at Dinah.

"Alright sweetheart. I'm coming. Where are we going?"

"Gymnasium."

"Young man, those are your good clothes," protested Alfred.

Dick not to be diverted started stripping them off and dumping them on the coffee table right there in the Den. "Is good. I put t-shirt and shorts under. I show! I want to show!" He felt around for his cane then pulled at Dinah who trying to stifle snickers followed along. So did everyone else.

Usually unreadable Bruce looked embarrassed and fond.

To start Richard put on a show on the parallel bars. He was conservative while he was on the bars. He maintained at least one hand of contact through an entire routine that was still rather jaw dropping. He finished with a flare. He did a perfect triple flip off the end of the bars.

An terrified explicitive escaped Ollie and he wasn't the only one to react.

"Tada?" spoke Richard with a tentatively grin before looking towards Oliver then turning his head towards Barry who was inches away from him with his hands out to catch him looking rather terrified. Richard looked confused and he listened carefully and sniffed a little smelling. "Mr. Allen? Did I go on you near? Sorry I, sorry. I practice are no boys and girls in gymnasium. I sorry." Richard looked horrified. He'd almost collided with one of Bruce's guests? Dick's eyes welled with tears and he started apologizing in French to Bruce. This was his first performance of any kind since loosing his sight. He'd wanted it to be perfect.

"Dickie it's alright. It wasn't you. Barry just tripped on a mat and landed next to you," tried Bruce.

Dick looked really confused now but he stopped crying. "Ca n'est pas vrai." (French: That is not true.) whispered Dick confused. "Qu'est que se passe?" (French: What is going on?)

The room was strangely silent for the number of people in it. Superheros glanced at each other nervously.

"I sorry Mr. Allen," Dick reached forward to see if the older man needed a hand up but Barry just touched Dick's shoulder.

"I'm okay Dick. I'm just a bit clumsy." Barry brushed himself off awkwardly.

Richard didn't feel like putting on a show anymore. "Alfred is it dinner?"

"I do believe it will be, by the time you are dressed respectably again young sir. Do not forget to wash your hands."

Dick rather disoriented carefully felt his way back to the parallel bars to look for his cane.

Bruce stepped forward grabbed it and tossed it to Dinah. "That was pretty impressive chum," spoke Bruce which seemed to break the mood and Bruce's guests belatedly began clapping. Bruce hefted Richard up. Dick squealed delighted and held onto Bruce. Bruce ignored the chalky hand prints being left on his dress cloths.

Barry got an annoyed swat from Dinah. He shrugged sheepishly. Then gestured as if to say what was I supposed to do let the kid crack his head open. Dinah's return gesture seemed to be along the lines of you're an idiot. Diana gave a roll of her eyes that seemed to fondly tease, all these men are idiots.

There was a whole gesture conversation. Dinah gave Ollie a glare about the swear word. He rolled his eyes. Barry looked at Clark as if to say and why'd you freeze up and not react Mr. Perfect? Clark looked away. He would love people to think he been clever but he'd been looking away, wondering where the nearest washroom was and had missed whatever had happened at the end there. He got that Barry had moved faster than he ought to have and that it had confused Dick.

After Dick had gone to bed they pulled Richard's full story out of Bruce. He told them about the Zucco, the orphanage, the juvenile detention centre, the new contacts and trying to transition Dick back to the sighted world.

"I can't believe how little it bothers him to be unable to see," commented Oliver. "I don't think I could live that way. He still seems a pretty happy little guy."

"I was wondering last night if it was a way of hiding too," spoke Dinah. "I'm not eight anymore. I can't pretend bad things aren't there because I can't see them but with the trauma that's been heaped on him lately it would make sense."

"I don't think I'm following things. So is this hysterical blindness?" asked Barry.

"No, he's healing from a brain injury although there was other damage too. A child's brain is more elastic, it heals far better than an adult. The recovery he's made is a really big deal. His chances were very slim. His vision has just reached the point where it's borderline correctable. The lenses are new technology. He complains they're painful but he should be able to wear them some of the time he just won't," explained Bruce. "Unless it's to use them to sneak out of the house and try to track down his parents killer. Dinah insists the lenses are hurting him but I don't know. Sometimes I understand just where he's coming from but other times it's a struggle."

"Bruce," suggested Dinah. "You are absolutely the last person who should have a hard time with the concept that someone might ignore pain, rules and common sense to bring their parent's killer to justice."

"He's eight!" protested Bruce.

Dinah just gave Bruce a look while everyone else found something else to look at.

"Hey chum what are you doing up?" Bruce looked over.

"The talk is loud and the phone is on in your working room," answered Dick sleepily.

"The office phone is ringing?" asked Bruce.

Dick nodded, his head bobbing, half asleep. He curled up where he was on the steps with his eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady.

"Come on Dickie head back to bed," encouraged Bruce taking the stairs to his office two at a time. When the phone only rang in the office, it was for Batman.

Duty broke up the party. Alfred got Richard back to bed.

In six months time Batman begrudgingly had a Robin. "It was my mom's special name for me Bruce."

Bruce had hoped Dick would never find out he was Batman. Dick didn't rely on a lot of visual clues to tell who people were. The next time he snuck out and met Batman he just knew. Scent, touch Bruce wasn't sure what had given him away.

Bruce had fought it and fought it. Dick had won. Batman had a partner.

Bruce was now officially Richard's foster father too.

The very last straw had to do with Richard's sight. Production of the contacts had been discontinued due to universal problems with comfort in everyone using them and a few cases of scratched cornea. The contacts had to be too stiff. The glasses hadn't worked at all. There were peripheral vision issues and back reflection issues. Bruce bought the patent and took over research at Wayne Tech.

"The world is against me," protested Bruce when Lucius excited came to present a solution that did work based on the original design. It adhered to the face like a mask fitting closely over the eyes, providing good peripheral vision, the lenses were a high gloss photo-reactive material so the light sensitivity issues were nullified.

"Actually we even built in some serious tech to correct low light levels," Lucius enthused.

"You want to give my vigilante obsessed kid a domino mask?" protested Bruce. Zucco was in jail and yes, Robin put him there using the old contacts.

Exactly what Bruce thought would happen, happened.

"Bruce now I have the perfect secret identity! No one will ever guess blind Dick Grayson is actually Robin who can see perfectly."

Bruce frowned. His English is a lot better at least. He tried a wear them to learn angle again.

"Don't be silly Bruce. I get picked on at school enough for being different. If I go to school wearing the mask I'd have no end of trouble. My way is better. I help you wearing my super mask and I keep my secret identity."

"If they made the edges of the mask skin toned it would not be so visible," offered Alfred.

Dickie laughed. This was obviously his new Robin mask. Why were Alfred and Bruce frowning?

Richard had moved on from the need for an aid all by himself. He still used Ace. When Richard's eyes stopped growing there were surgical options that would fix things permanently. Dick had come so far. His English was still accented but strong. The school wanted to evaluate Richard for their gifted program.

"My secret identity is better than anyone's," bragged Robin teasingly. It was true. His whole body language completely transformed. Richard was blind. Robin could see.

Bruce encouraged the school to bump Richard up into a higher grade. He laid down the law. "You finish your homework with the lenses first and every grade is an A or no Robin." It didn't work. Even in the higher grade Richard wasn't overly challenged now that he'd figured out how to learn at school and having the mask at home meant a lot of the schooling that had been challenging before was effortless. They bumped him up again. He was thriving more than ever. He actually made his first school friend, adults not included. She was the police commissioner's daughter, Barbara Gordon.

The league was nervous about the whole Robin thing but they'd watch Batman fight it every step of the way. Batman was changing for the better. He was less angry, more careful and a better communicator.

If Richard blind on the parallel bars had been terrifyingly talented. Robin was capable of wonder.

"What's he doing up here anyway Bats," asked Hal who was really against the entire concept of Robin.

"He's upgrading the Watchtower computer firewalls. I caught him in bed last night with the lights off giggling under the covers. He'd hacked the watchtower and was into mischief."

"With the lights off?" asked Hal who didn't really know Richard, only Robin.

Barry grinning elbowed Hal jokingly. "The kid can do it with his eyes closed. Ha!"

"I don't get it," responded Hal but Barry had already zipped away.

"Why don't you spar with him for a little while GL," suggested Clark. "Batman tries to keep him out of combat but anything we can do to make him safer has to help."

Hal frowned at Superman but reluctantly nodded Robin towards the gym hoping that the kid would change his mind if someone put him in his place.

"Robin, Robin dressed in yellow. He is such a clever fellow," sang Robin with a cheerful grin after putting the smack down on Hal for the umpteenth time. "Can we go again? This is fun!"

"Kid, I think someone forgot to put bones in you. No one should be able to move that way. I still stand by my opinion. I don't want a kid in the league."

"I'm just helping fix your computers Green Lantern. I'll stay out of your space house."

"Hey champ you want a piggy back ride at super speed?" asked the Flash.

"Yeah! Fun!"


	5. Halloween Treat

**A Halloween Treat - yep this is pointless Halloween fun.**

It was just as well Flash didn't have a problem with kids. In another two years time, Kid Flash was on the scene. He was older than Robin and with the super speed he didn't cause as much of a stir as Robin had. A kid with super powers obviously needed training.

Green Arrow ended up with a protege as well, around the same time as Flash.

Batman, Flash and Arrow experimented with getting the younger generation together. Kid Flash and Robin got along well enough but Roy was a little too old to relate well to Robin and Kid Flash. Both Roy and Wally did kind of wonder why Robin was never without his domino mask, ever.

"I swear he sleeps in the mask Roy. I wouldn't tell anyone who he was," protested Wally. "Not like Bats would ever let him come for a sleep over though." Wally was frustrated. He wasn't really all that popular at school but he really got along well with Robin and Mount Justice was being decommissioned because the bad guys found out about it, the Hall of Justice was a no go, where else were they supposed to meet up in costume? Batman would never let him in the Batcave and Flash didn't really have a secret hideout.

"He'll let you talk on the phone with him for hours," answered Roy.

"Yeah," pouted Wally. "We're going to Barry's for Halloween. My folks are out of town and the candy is best in Uncle Barry's neighbourhood. Apparently Rob's dressing up as Daredevil. You want to come trick-or-treating with us Roy?"

"I'll take you trick-or-treating but I'm kind of too old for the dressing up and the door-to-door myself."

Wally and Roy's jaws dropped to the floor when Robin showed up dressed as Matt Murdock, cane and all, no mask just sunglasses. That's not what they thought Rob was going to dress like, but then Robin got changed in the bathroom to the more traditional Daredevil costume.

"Sorry Wally, there are no masks allowed at my school so I kind of had to do two costumes. Everyone at school thought my costume was so lame."

The cute little dark red sunglasses and miniature lawyer's suit were the closest Wally and Roy had ever gotten to an identity reveal.

Actually Robin's backpack had carefully and deliberately covered his school crest. He'd come straight from school. The red tinted sunglasses had been a surprise gag gift from Babs. Dick couldn't resist trolling Wally and Roy.

Alfred had been busy and so he sent a well vetted driver to pickup the young master instructing Richard to change in the car and giving the driver instructions to deliver him to Central City. No Gotham schools allowed costumes. No one in Gotham went trick-or-treating. Children went to parties and got dressed there. People wandering the streets in costumes in Gotham were almost always a bad thing.

The senior heroes contacted them that they were busy putting down Halloween mayhem. Aunt Iris let them have their fun with sleeping bags and the TV going in the rec-room. Robin and Roy were staying the night? Awesome! Rob fell asleep on Roy while watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre still dressed in the cowled Daredevil costume. Roy was at that age where he thought it would prove him cool watching the scary movie, especially when his younger friends got all freaked out.

Robin set up sensors so the TV automatically changed to an alternate channel whenever Iris came to check on them.

Roy had no idea how a kid Robin's age could fall asleep watching something like that. Robin just muttered, "Batman and I could take 'em. Gotham's scarier."

Wally didn't sleep. He just kept nervously eating all night long. He was going to have zero candy in the morning. Robin was going to have zero candy in the morning but sleeping when a speedster was stress eating? Sorry Rob.

Roy told Wally to knock it off but Roy himself was suspiciously happy to clinging tightly to the sleeping Daredevil all night. Roy's back was against the high backed couch, he was facing the one door and all the lights were on. Everything was good. He wasn't sleeping, because he was uncomfortable with Robin crashed on top of him. He didn't have the heart to wake the kid up. Yeah. "Rob you are so lame I bet you closed your eyes because you were to scared for the movie. Rob?"

Soft snores were Roy's only answer.

Roy and Wally passed out at around 7:30 in the morning when the sun came up. Olly, Barry and presumably Batman in a trench coat showed up together. Batman smirked at the sensor. "Gentlemen we have a grown up alarm," He whispered shushing the others. In a few moment Batman had hacked Robin's handiwork smirking at Ollie and Barry, he keyed up a chainsaw scene in the movie turned the volume right up and hit play!

Roy and Wally shot through the roof with girly screams.

Robin flung a batarang at the TV speaker totalling it without opening his eyes. He muttered a soft sleepy, "huh?..."

Barry laughed and zipped over, unplugging the sparking TV.

"You owe Barry a new TV," Batman growled at Robin.

Robin yawned hugely, "Okay ... Wherez candy bag... time to go?" he muttered blearily.

"Sorry Rob. I might have eaten it," admitted Wally sheepishly.

"...z'okay Wally..." Robin went back to sleep if he'd ever been awake that is.

"Hey!" protested Roy. "The squirt's the only one that slept and he didn't even really wake up!" Roy shivered turning off the TV. "I'm freaking freezing here."

"So get to sleep earlier next time," answered Ollie with a grin. "Really Roy, the movie choice? Robin's ten, Wally's twelve. You're grounded."

"Rob slept through most of it," protested Roy.

"He's seen enough times he could quote it. Gotham has a lot of copycat issues in the horror genre. We pick the classics apart until he knows what to expect from a copycat. Gotham leading up to Halloween is nothing but costumed villains and bad news. It's been a long week. Robin is just tired." Batman lifted Robin and carried him out to an nondescript grey car.

Wally retrieved Rob's back pack and plucked the batarang out of the TV shoving it in the pack.

"I got to see Robin without his mask!" Wally bragged to his uncle. Batman watched him curiously.

"He was wearing dark glasses though," Wally added for Batman's benefit. "He was dressed up as Matt Murdock."

Batman smirked.

"So have you figured out his ID?" Barry asked.

"Not a clue but I still want to be able to hang out more," answered Wally.


	6. Kid Flash Finds Out

**Don't ask why I'm posting on this piece of silliness instead of something I'm serious about. I dunno.**

Bruce's last ditch effort to get Dick to transition back into sighted, in the civilian world had involved a week at an sleepover STEM camp with Wally as his roommate and a new glasses design that looked like aviator goggles to give them a distinctive not Robin look. Bruce had even given Dick permission to reveal his identity to Wally (and only Wally) if he'd wear the glasses. It was the biggest bribe he could think of. He'd arranged for the whole camp to have aviator styled safety glasses.

Richard had looked forward to the camp until Bruce brought the glasses up again then instead of excited, he was a nervous wreck. He wanted to do it, for Wally not for himself. He got as far as wearing them on top of his head. The entire bus ride to the camp, an idiot in the seat across the way teased him about his fashion sense. Dick kept them on top of his head determined to give his friend what he knew he wanted. He couldn't see the idiot who was teasing him. He was easy to ignore.

Wally wanted to hang out with the bigger kids and complained to the councillor that he'd been stuck with a kid a lot younger than he was. "I didn't sign up to camp to be a babysitter," he complained over the phone to Uncle Barry with Dick right there in the room. Dick didn't wear the goggles that day.

Dick had been up the week before to familiarize himself with the camp layout. There was still a maximum amount of time he could wear the glasses without a killer headache. He didn't need a babysitter. He was only two and a half years younger than Wally. They were in the same grade at school.

Dick honestly had no idea why Wally didn't recognize him. He didn't need to see Wally to know he was Kid Flash. Wally sounded like Kid Flash. He smelled like Kid Flash. He liked the same things. He moved the same way. He was Wally.

Dick sat by himself for dinner. Blind or not he was scolded into wearing the goggles during the science experiments and Kid Flash still didn't recognise him.

It wasn't until the last day when Dick was saying goodbye and he rather disappointedly said, "Bye KF," accidently, that Wally even had a clue.

"Barry the blind kid called me KF. Should I be worried?" asked a still oblivious Wally West. "Wait a minute these aren't my goggles. I had the red ones. These are Dick's."

Barry who'd watched a very disappointed Batman quite deliberately make the switch, shrugged. "A pair of goggles is a pair of googles aren't they?" He put them on Wally.

"Woah! These are like serious prescription eyewear. Ouch. "

"Yep." spoke Barry dryly. "You've got about ten grand worth of tech on your head."

"Why'd they put me with the blind grade schooler? I was seriously looking forward to this camp."

"So was the blind grade schooler," answered Barry defeated. "Did you even say two words to him?"

"What would we even have had in common. Seriously! He kept trailing after me and he was like this little uber genius with all the answers. That's my thing. I don't need grade school competition."

Barry loved Wally like a son but sometimes the kid was seriously thick. "You've never had a problem with Robin before."

"Yeah but that's Robin!" protested Wally. There was something about the look of exasperation Uncle Barry was throwing him.

Barry shook his head in disappointment.

"What?!"

They were alone and about halfway home, "Close your eyes for a moment kid. Think of your roommate's goodbye."

"He said Bye KF," Wally sat there with his eyes closed. He hated when his Uncle did this remember the crime scene properly thing with him.

"Yes, describe what you remember."

"Dick's short about you know this tall. Brown, almost black hair, blue eyes, thin wiry build, slightly strange accent, a little bit Gotham but a little something else... No way!"

"Yep."

"He's never going to forgive me."

"You wanted to know why he never takes the mask off."

"I blew him off all week. He was trying but I kept blowing him off. Why didn't he just tell me who he was? I feel kind of like I've been set up," protested Wally a little indignant.

"I doubt it even occurred to him that you wouldn't recognize him. Every hero he's ever met he's recognized in or out of mask; even those that use some form of voice changing. The first time I worked with Batman and Robin in uniform back when he was eight, the little guy went all quiet listening for a while to be sure no one was near then he pipes up in the softest whisper, "What do I call Uncle Barry when he's in uniform Batman?"

"He didn't recognize the lightening bolt?" protested Wally.

"He was still wearing contacts under the mask back then. A lot of his tech hadn't been developed yet. I was standing under a light standard and apparently I was just a red smeary blur."

"How'd he know you were in uniform?"

"We'd just faced down a drug cartel moving semi-automatic weapons between our cities. With his mask, he absolutely uses vision to help decode the world but he's not as dependant on it as you or I are. The way you move, your pattern of speech, your scent, your mannerisms and interests are more you to him then what you look like. He doesn't even realize that what he's doing is a little unusual."

"Why doesn't he use ...vision correction all the time?" asked Wally thinking of Dick with his cane and the instructors freaking out about him having to wear the goggles for the experiments at least. Dicks even had his own special computer and this text to braille output device. Someone had asked why he didn't just do text to voice. Dick had said he used the headphones sometimes but sometimes he needed to pay attention to people talking to him too.

"There are a couple of reasons. The goggles or mask are painful is the simple reason. The more complicated reason involves head doctors, death, trauma and scary stuff like that."

Wally who usually never shut up had been quiet all the way home. At home he'd spent the rest of the day learning about Dick Grayson who was apparently a celebrity. He'd been a world famous trapeze artist. Wally learned about the murder under the big top, the brutal beating of the only witness, his adoption by Bruce Wayne. He formed his own theories as to why Richard Grayson was blind when Robin could see.

Robin and Kid Flash were awkward around each other for a while but apologies and forgiveness involving nachos, ice cream and uh yeah so about that thing and okay whatever, can we please just be friends again?

"Thank you God!" praised Barry when the two boys finally got over themselves.

Batman grunted with the ghost of a smirk. Barry decided that was bat speak for "AMEN!"

"Do you ever go around with the mask on but your eyes closed?" KF asked the younger boy once.

"At any time it's not absolutely essential for me to see, my eyes are closed. Did you ever go for a run in shoes three sizes too small?" Rob had admitted privately. "The fancy glasses hurt ...a lot. Like really unbelievably a lot. There was this one time this guy clocked me over the head with brass knuckles and I ended up with a concussion and stitches. Honest KF, Batman thought I was in shock or something because I didn't notice until the mask was off for a while and the headache didn't go away."

KF couldn't imagine wanting to do the hero gig that badly, which was hypocritical from a guy that blew himself up with lightening to get superpowers but Robin had always had this little brother thing going on. He was so eager to help, so earnest and selfless. It didn't help that he looked younger than he was. No one really dealt well when he was hurt or sick. KF didn't like knowing the vision correction hurt.

KF took to dragging Rob around or letting him ride piggy back. They had a whole bunch of their own secret eyes-closed moments. KF filled any safe moment with silly chatter a lot of which was thinly veiled descriptions hoping Rob would trust him to be his eyes and give himself a break.

Robin played video games with KF sometimes. KF recognized it as a gift. Robin didn't do leisure when it came to vision. It was Rob's way of giving back. KF knew it was a big deal when Batman even let them use the huge screen of the Bat computer to play one time. The only annoying thing was Robin, who almost never played video games, consistently won.

Wally didn't think Roy knew Robin's alter ego but Roy had never had a problem accepting Robin as he was. He knew Robin had a traumatic background and Roy had a protective streak a mile wide but Robin was just Rob to him. Wally was determined to do right by the trust that had been placed in him.


	7. Team Work

When the Young Justice Team formed Wally was all excited that the team members were wearing civies in Mount Justice. Robin was wearing sunglasses! Roy'd taken off in a pout about the whole watchtower thing.

"Flash, look Robin's wearing sunglasses!" stated Wally. Robin had never worn sunglasses before. Could he see with those? Wally had a thousand questions but they were all related to secret identity stuff. Superboy had looked at Wally really oddly for the sunglasses comment. Kid Flash's current goggle styling was significant.

When there was free time after the team had been introduced Robin explained that the sunglasses gave visual descriptions rather than images.

"Why isn't Superboy giving you weird looks then? Can't he hear them?"

"Well they use bone conduction which generates more vibration that outright noise so they are pretty quiet and they're in Romani. I imagine it only registers as background noise."

The Team was expected to bond outside of missions. Kid Flash knew the dark glasses with the visual description were a compromise but he was glad to be with a Rob who wasn't smiling through secret pain. Robin in dark glasses might be blind but he did his best and with a little help here and there, no one quite figured out the secret.

 **It went something like this:**

KF and Robin were already very familar with Mount Justice. They'd grown up there, pretty much. KF was still a little astonished at how well Robin did. No one even suspected he couldn't see without his mask on. KF heard Superboy comment to Megan kind of annoyed like, that Robin was too touchy feely sometimes and he was alway listening to that talk show in another language even when people were trying to talk to him. Kid Flash snickered and decided to be ten times more touchy feely hanging on people and sprawling on them. If Superboy growled at him instead of Robin well, KF didn't mind.

ϟ

When they left the cave for ice cream, the beach, what ever. Wally tended to drag Robin around excitedly. Kaldur kept snapping at him when Rob would trip and almost face plant. "Do you need to drag him everywhere?!"

"It's okay Kal," Rob would protest because honestly he really didn't do well on his own without Ace or his cane or his mask outside the familiar Mount Justice setting. If Wally wasn't going to be there to help Rob usually just bowed out protesting that he had things to attend to back in Gotham.

One or twice Rob went out with the Team but without Wally and ended up seperated. It took him a long time to find his way back to the cave the one time. "Where'd you get to?" asked Superboy. "Why'd you just take off like that?"

"Sorry, Did you know there's this really cool burger joint down past the resort where the band The Cat Yowlers, play?"

Megan tried to politely explain to Robin who was a little younger than the rest of them that they worried when he didn't tell anyone where he was going.

"Sorry Megs."

The other time KF went to see what Rob had got up to as soon as they got back to the cave without him. When KF found him Robin explained that he going home to give Ace the biggest hug ever. Robin was obviously completely lost and frustrated. His phone was out of batteries. The GPS in the phone had taken him part way then given out. He'd tried to follow the coast line because there were a lot of beaches he was familiar with that he could have somewhat awkwardly navigated his way home from but the shore line had proven treacherous not to mention it was continuously interrupted by private property and people kept yelling at him to get off their beach.

"Thanks for coming Wally," Rob spoke softly.

"Don't you have your mask tucked away somewhere? Couldn't you wear it like under the glasses or something?"

"Secret ID man. If it had gotten dark I would have used the mask."

"You'd rather look like a bumbling inconsiderate idiot than let it slip to a stranger that you're blind and could use a little help?"

"Wally I have no idea what I'm doing with this strange not Robin, not really Dick either thing I have going on with the team. I wasn't expecting all this social stuff I was expecting bad guys and missions. I do know that I won't put Batman at risk exposing his secrets because things are hard. Robin helps keep Batman safe."

Wally nodded though of course Robin couldn't see that. Partners, BFF's, family, some people you just had to go the extra mile to keep safe.

ϟ

The whole team knew that Batman was a neat freak, so was Dinah actually and Red Tornado. Mount Justice had to be spotless at all times. Most of the furniture was fixed in place so casual redecorating wasn't an option. Robin and Wally knew why.

^ᴽ^

"Robin why do you wear your mask under your glasses after training when you and Wally play video games?" asked Megan.

"The glue takes forever to get off and I'm usually feeling lasy after a couple of hours training."

"Then why do you do handstands and flips and wrestle while you play?" asked Megan.

Rob shrugged. "Think fast Wally! Marshmellows incoming!"

Megan smiled fondly enjoying the relaxed and playful atmosphere in the cave and didn't think anymore of it.

^ᴽ^

"Robin does it not bother your eyesight to wear dark glasses indoors?" asked Kaldur.

"Nah," Robin had answered dismissively thinking nothing of it. Dick had worn dark glass both in and outside since he was eight. Frankly it often bothered him not to wear dark glasses indoors. Malls were killer.

^ᴽ^

"Aren't you coming in the water?" Megan asked. They were getting a new team member today.

Robin let his dark glasses scan over the waves and the shore. They couldn't make sense of the water and waves. "Nope. I'm good here. I'll build a castle or something."

"Do you want to play volleyball later?" she asked.

Bruce had designed a game mode for the sunglasses with tones and beeps. Dick and Bruce would play basketball in the evenings. It was challenging but seriously fun. Dick was getting pretty good at telling where a ball was.

"Sure!"

When Artemis was introduced to the Team plus Bruce had arranged for her to go to Gotham Academy Green Arrow was sure Artemis would figure out Robin's I.D.. He'd gotten to know Robin and Richard well enough over the years that it seemed obvious to him.

After Artemis had been going to school for a while he wondered if she'd even run into Dick. "So living in Gotham do you know Robin's identity?" He prodded.

"Pfft, no. I bet he's home schooled or something, to allow extra intense training time. I bet no kid in Gotham knows him as a civilian," answered Artemis.

"Have you made any friends at school?" asked Green Arrow.

"There's a girl Bette who's really nice. We sometimes hang out with this other girl called Barb. Not often though, Barb usually eats with the little blind genious that got bumped up into high school. I think his name is Dick. He's even got a seeing eye dog. Did you know you aren't supposed to pet service dogs?"

"There's a student with a service dog at your school?" asked G.A. incredulous that Artemis couldn't figure it out but knowing better than to give away secrets without permission. He was just checking really to make sure Artemis didn't need the Bat version of the sensitive secrets training but it seemed she hadn't recognised Dick as Robin.

"Oh he's a major troll! My first day there he comes up with his dog Ace. He's got one of the yearbook cameras and he tries to snap a picture of him and me. It took him two tries to get the camera the right way round. Says he's going to be the yearbook photographer. He insisted I'd laugh about it later but actually it was pretty funny right then. Barb and Bette got the camera off him during study hall to review his candid shots. Never seen so many chopped off heads and elbows. Dumb kid. I guess he wasn't hurting anything though."

"One picture he took of him and me wasn't completely horrible but OH! There was one snap of Mr. Grady doing something he shouldn't have that Dick ended up snapping. Barb and Bette freaked and showed it to the principal. One of the kid's goof ball shots ended up getting a major sleeze fired! The police wanted to interview the photographer but they gave up when the found out it was basically a random snap taken by a blind kid messing with a camera."

"Really," replied Oliver unsure what else to say.

"The football team slams him into lockers sometimes on the days he doesn't bring Ace. Then they'll laugh and tell him he should watch where he's going. It's not right."

Oliver frowned. Apparently Artemis had met Robin. Oliver had been grinning until he heard about the football team. "So you saw big football players bullying a blind child and you didn't do anything about it?" asked Green Arrow his tone loosing it's playfullness.

What kind of person does Mr. Queen take me for? wondered Artemis surprised at Green Arrow's sudden change in mood. "I helped him find his cane and gather his papers and books. I even talked to the principle when the little twerp wouldn't speak up for himself. Apparently he's tried talking to the principle before but because he can't visually identify the bullies she's not comfortable calling them in to do anything about it."

"You could identify them if you were a witness. Has the bullying stopped?" demanded Green Arrow.

"It's Gotham! The bullying didn't stop. It got worse. You're right I did ID the guys. They got detention but there were others on the team who figured they had to teach the kid a lesson about snitching. I didn't see what happened but they I'm pretty sure they hurt his dog and he was limping and nursing one arm."

Oliver called patrol short that night.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of bullying?"

"Look, Mr. Wayne's a friend. I work with him all the time through Queen Industries and Dick Grayson is his foster son. I know the kid. I'm just phoning Bruce to let him know what's happening."

When Bruce went to ask Dick about it he found Richard with his mask on scowling at a computer pulling survellance footage, documenting times and incidents. They messed with Ace. Nobody was allowed to mess with Ace.

Bruce pet Ace and bent down to inspect the big old ex-police dog. Ace whined a put upon whine and held up a supposedly hurt paw. There was a bandage on the opposite paw. Ace's acting skills were clever but not always enough to remember paw from paw. "Big suck," muttered Bruce.

"Dick, arm and left ankle. Let's take a look."

Richard huffed and closed his eyes. "I get worse on patrol."

"School's supposed to be safe," spoke Bruce gently but without compromise. There was bruising all down Dick's left side like he fallen then been kicked repeatedly. "ALFRED!" called Bruce. This needed proper attention. Bruce mentally sighed. It looked like Richard needed to talk to Dinah again. If Richard wasn't speaking up when this sort of thing was happening, it wasn't okay.

The ankle was mild sprain but where Artemis said it looked like Dick had been nursing one arm he'd been bracing his ribs. They ended up at the clinic taking x-rays. After Doctor Leslie's findings the school was obligated to investigate. Bruce took a copy of Richard's list of times, incidents, teachers he's talked to and their responses. There was an explusion and three suspensions handed out.

The football team had been decimated of some of it's best players. Dick braced himself expecting to be the pirah of the school. The team had almost made it to the play offs. They didn't stand a chance anymore. It was worth it, for Ace.

Artemis, Bette and Barb took care of it. It was incredible how easily they swung the focus away from Dick who really didn't need the attention and onto his poor service dog Ace. That hound limped and whimpered for any poor sucker that felt sympathy for him.

He also growled low and menacing whenever Dick was alone and getting within a hundred feet of a football player but Ace had a really good nose, never forgot a scent and well, he was an ex-police dog.

He acted like a suck but the football player that had downed his master and was hurting him had been taken down like any two bit villian would have been. A large pouncing growling barking ex-police dog was intimating enough that even if Ace had been hurt, the football players who'd been involved were a little terrified of the him. Ace might have made one of the attacking football players wet himself but Ace was well trained and had left no marks.

"He's a monster I tell you!" Josh insisted to the class who was on his case for cruelty to animals. "He shouldn't be allowed in a school with kids. It's not safe." Josh was a 210 pound six foot five tall line backer. He was laughed out of class.

Ace lolled out his tongue in a doggy grin, wagged his tail and rubbed his head against his master affectionately. For good measure he whimpered and backed up a little when Josh was waving his hands about and trying to explain it all.


	8. Eyedentity

Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, rumours started about a mole on the team. It created division in a lot of ways. Right now half the team was getting on Rob's case about the secret identity thing. Everyone else at least knew each other's real names, but not so much for the Dark Squire, Artemis had snarked out.

Superboy already felt untrusted due to Superman's treatment of him. The extra secrecy around Robin wasn't exactly making him feel welcoming toward the kid. Taking a page from the Man of Steel, Connor started shunning Robin.

Megan refusing to take sides, kept telling everyone to think how the other person was feeling. As a result, everyone was frustrated with her. Surely she had some sort of opinion of her own?

Kaldur was so focused on the possibility of a mole that he wanted everyone's secrets out in the open but at the same time was conflicted because there were clear orders from the League to respect the secrecy of Robin's identity.

Robin went home early, which he wasn't that unusual if the team was leaving the mountain but it was just a team bonding trip. Most of the team was in a mood plus he had zero interest in going to "see" the Atlantean art exhibit. He be surrounded by noisy crowds bumping and crashing into him. The sunglasses weren't intended for use in chaotic environments. Fragile priceless artifacts he couldn't see to appreciate? Girls were really into Atlantean Art right now so Wally would be too distracted to help much. The whole thing sounded stressful and uncomfortable. He'd rather have it out with the team in uniform where he had the benefit of visual behavioural cues instead of being at a disadvantage.

Wally liked the concept of the snack break when they got into town. He was flirting with the girls in the next booth and but they'd just served the food when Arty started trying to ramp everyone up again to see her side of the identities should be out in the open debate. They were in public so everything she said was couched in innuendo and unclear terms . Rob wasn't even here to defend himself. Finally after his third Big Belly Burger, Wally paused eating and spoke up.

"Artemis… You do know Rob's two years younger than any of the rest of us right?" offered Wally.

"Apparently he's the guy with all the experience though. Age and maturity count for something Wallace," Artemis snapped.

"So you're jealous?" Wally tried to clarify incredulous.

"NO!" Artemis immediately denied. "But why is he a special case? Everyone trusts him and he has more secrets than anyone!"

"True," agreed Connor.

"He's vulnerable," Wally tried to explain. Rob would kill him if he heard him talking like this but he needed the others to understand. "He's..." Wally switched to the link so he could speak silently. " _Secrets and intelligence are what Bats do. The bad guys know that and frankly want a piece of it. He's surrounded by genius insanity rather than ordinary crime in Gotham. He's a foot shorter than any of us. Arty, he's just got this honking big target on his ass. Let him keep his ID if it helps protect him even a little."_

Wally had a feeling he'd handled that exactly wrong. When the visual impairment came into the open Robin would already have to struggle to prove he was still capable and not a liability. Playing up the young, short and vulnerable angle was dangerous. ...but Rob was more vulnerable than most out of uniform.

Artemis's dad had been making threats against her mom. Speedy or Red Arrow or Whatever, had been poking around, looking over her shoulder and hinting that she couldn't be trusted because of clues he'd found out about her past.

Artemis kept bumping into Robin at the Gotham Zeta terminal and it sure as heck seemed he knew she really lived in Gotham. Who knows what other secrets he knew about her? Artemis felt hemmed in on all sides.

She'd overheard Green Arrow and Batman talking when she shouldn't have. Who on the team did they really trust? The list had Robin and Kid Flash on it and no one else. Green Arrow himself didn't stand up for his own proteges, at least not like he should have. He'd said one of his proteges was new and the other had just started to venture out on his own but that they were good kids. Way to show trust Arrow! Qualifying your trust nullified it. At least it did in Artemis's opinion.

When they got back to the mountain Robin was waiting for them smiling. He'd brought cookies. They were supposed to have a training session in a short while.

Artemis refused the cookies and stormed off to get changed.

"...trying to buy my trust with cookies. I am so not that shallow." Connor heard her mutter under her breath.

Connor stomped past not even stopping.

Kaldur was kind of hurt that Robin hadn't been interested in seeing the exhibit on Atlantean art. Kaldu just said, "No thank you," to the cookies and went off for a quick soak.

Megan frowned because everyone seemed upset. "Aren't they a little raw?" she asked curiously looking at a cookie.

Robin wasn't sure how to politely point out that cookies weren't usually black and rock hard. "Umm.. I kinda like them on the rare side? Just try one, if you aren't sure about it," he offered awkwardly.

Wally ate most of them. He liked to stress eat. He wasn't even hungry. "Rob you gotta talk to the team. They are freaking and Kal was not impressed that you didn't go to the art thing. You never do the swimming and ocean thing either, etcetera."

Robin frowned a bit.

He would tackled Kaldur first, in private, after training because Artemis and Connor were mad at the world right now, not just mad at him.

After a rough, mean training session, Robin chased after Aqualad not sure what he was going to say. "Kal? Wally mentioned you were upset that I didn't seem to be big on the Atlantean art thing?"

Kaldur rolled his eyes a bit. "It is fine Robin."

"Not if you're upset with me it isn''t."

"Even if you weren't interested for yourself I thought you might go because it was something I wanted to share with all of you," explained Kaldur trying to be patient.

"I suppose. I don't think Arty or Connor wanted me there. Art galleries mean robberies. I'd spend the entire time casing the security or being yelled at not to touch, Hey that's breakable. I admit it I'm a little kinesthetic."

"A lot," corrected Kaldur crisply. Robin was running one hand along the wall now. His other hand was on Kaldur's arm as if trying to ensure Kaldur was still paying attention to him.

"I'm sorry... I'll suck it up next time. So,... Wally said you were upset about the beach too."

"Why won't you go in the water?"

"Being submerged wigs me out okay? I'm not touching anything. There's no frame of reference. You can sort of feel your buoyancy but only sort of. Everything sounds different and distorted."

The kinesthetic thing again thought Kaldur, "Don't you open your eyes underwater? You can watch the bubbles and the sun is a good frame of reference for up and down."

Robin just shook his head in protest looking uncomfortable. "...and if you're on the surface the waves are like sneak attack! Water is loud and unpredictable and… I like breathing. Breathing is good."

Kaldur was silent for a while because there'd been an honest crack in Robin's cheeky self confident mask.

"Don't tell Batman! He'll take me out boating and toss me in a mile from shore again and tell me to get over it. He has a very aggressive take on how to overcome, well you know."

"Fear?" offered Kaldur thinking, Batman did what?!

"Stress!" protested Robin immediately, his voice a little higher than it should have been.

"Can you swim?" asked Kaldur softly.

Robin nodded.

"... more than a mile?" Kaldur confirmed.

Robin shuddered, "carrying a bloody 10 pound rock but please don't make me."

Robin's confession distracted Kaldur from the art exhibit and explained the beach trips. Kaldur was the leader so it was kind of a challenge. A challenge that didn't involve suspicion and betrayal. How could he help his team member enjoy water and the ocean? It was a pleasant sort of challenge for a change.

Robin liked animals. He was very friendly with Wolf. He'd talked about horses, cats, dogs, elephants, tigers and his name was even a bird. Maybe one of the dolphins might agree to come visit the mountain pool? There was a sea entrance and some of the dolphins liked swimming with the younglings and encouraging them. They generally understood about air breathers as they were air breathers.

Kaldur thought back to Robin's near drowning in the incident with the Red's while wandering back into the common area. "Wallace,..."

"It's Wally not Wallace. I don't care how serious your mood is." Wally had himself draped upside down on the couch watching cartoons.

"You mentioned once that Robin has had multiple near drownings?"

"I'm sure he can swim but drown the bird is a rogue hobby I think. Last year he had pneumonia for a month after one incident. The bat had him wearing a cardiac monitor for weeks. If I had to guess I'd say that time he probably needed CPR and it took a while before his heart was recovered. I likey my healing factor very much thank you."

Kaldur who loved the water couldn't help but look horrified.

"He's Robin. He's fine," insisted Wally tired of all the drama.

Kaldur scoffed. This was not going down this way on his watch.

The Artemis problem sort of solved itself. Half of the reason Artemis's mom had moved to Gotham and Artemis had been invited to Gotham Academy was part of a League deal to provide protection from Sportmaster and his like. Batman had his city locked down from outsiders better than most, despite the high crime rate.

Batman and Robin showed up right at her home stopping Sportsmaster in his tracks. While they were waiting for the cops, Rob gave Arty a goofy embarrassed little smile and wave, breaking out of his I'm a serious crime fighter on serious business pose. Finally what Wally had said about Bats dealing in secrets sunk in. The friendly little twerp knew all about her family and kept her secrets under the same tight lock and key as his own.

Just before the Dynamic Duo swooped off into the night Artemis ran to the kitchen coming back with a half open box of Oreos. "Hey Robin! Um… Cookie?"

"Thanks but I'm not allowed to eat on duty," answered Robin sounding kind of shy.

"...Yeah. Okay. Thank you." answered Artemis.

An Atlantean royal dolphin invited to the cave just to try and make you more comfortable in the water is not something you can bow out of. Robin lay at the edge of the salt water pool wearing his vigilante mask and swim shorts. He had his hands in the water at least.

Kaldur had made certain now one else would be at the mountain today because a large group of people splashing about didn't seem like the best idea if Robin had issues with the water. Batman hadn't seemed excited about the idea. Neither had Aquaman actually.

"I know he doesn't like water so I'm generally near when I'm forcing him to do something he isn't comfortable with," Batman had growled with his arms crossed and a full on 'don't mess with me,' glare evident in every molecule of his stance.

Kaldur had to force himself not to back down. Water was his thing. "I won't let anything happen to him, Sir."

"8 and a ½ feet, 510 pounds of dolphin is not something to be trifled with," Batman objected in a low snarl.

Kaldur didn't think it was in his best interests to explain that an Atlantean Royal dolphin was even bigger than your average Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.

"Robin the uniform mask will get all wet and unless it's sealed it just won't work well under water. I brought some swim goggles with a reflective coating that you can use," offered Kaldur.

Batman watching from the Watchtower with Aquaman of all people stood beside him, shook his head.

"It will be fine," encouraged Aquaman frowning because he knew Kaldur had wanted privacy but if Batman was watching, he was watching.

Robin left and came back wearing some of the old school contacts with the goggles overtop. He slipped into the water determinedly.

The dolphin whose closest equivalent human name was Riptide swam near and bumped Robin with his nose gently and sounded a series of squeals and klicks.

"He asked if your head hurts?" translated Kaldur confused.

"I'm fine," answered Robin his face a smiling mask.

Riptide swam away a bit and squirted water in Robin's direction chirping and squealing again.

"He wants you to take the glass off your eyes," spoke Kaldur. "He says it doesn't fit right and is causing the pain. Come here and let me loosen the goggles. They won't fall off just because they're a little looser."

Dolphin's perceive far more than humans and they have the largest brain size per body mass of any animal including humans. Riptide had a plan.

Robin closed his eyes but with the contacts in the pain didn't stop. Kaldur was fussing with his goggles.

Riptide chirped sharply, "Not that glass the other glass."

"What other glass?" Kaldur whistled and chirped back.

The dolphin language did not have a word for contacts. While Kaldur and Riptide where arguing in dolphin, Robin retreated to the change room he took the contacts out and put the goggles back on then sat on the bench trying to decide if even a dolphin was cool enough for this mess. The contacts weren't really safe to use there had been a lot of scratched cornea and such. His mask only worked for a short while underwater. The vision issues were a huge part of the reason he didn't like water in the first place. How the heck was he supposed to fake this?

Batman and Aquaman were discussing what to do.

Kaldur showed up and apologized to Robin because no one particularly liked being the subject of a loud long discussion in a foreign language. Kaldur had to kind of pull Robin back to the water's edge.

All the confidence had gone out of Robin's body language which dismayed Kaldur a little. Every step was faltering and reluctant. He knew Robin didn't like water but this was a little more than Kaldur was expecting.

Robin without his mask was Richard who didn't know which next step was water. He'd was frantically trying to spatially orient himself in the room so he'd know which way the deep end was. The ocean door was open so this wasn't exactly a pool anymore. The water was noisy and disorienting.

If Kaldur was caught off guard, Riptide was ready now. He gave a confident cheerful nod and swam slowly up to Robin making odd little sounding click that Kal had not heard before. He brought his head up and rested it on Robin's hand still continuously clicking in slow intervals. Kaldur stood back watching and wondered what Aquaman had said to Riptide. His King had insisted on talking to the dolphin before allowing this.

Riptide seemed to encourage Robin's kinesthetic nature. He bumped and touched and pulled Robin around the pool. It was obvious to everyone involved Robin was completely out of his comfort zone.

They played a which way is up game. Riptide would take Robin down a little then let him figure out how to get to the surface bumping him back up to air if the dolphin determined his human charge had run too low on oxygen reserves.

Kaldur played too but mostly he played second fiddle to the dolphin which he'd expected would happen. The exaggerated startle reflex, the accelerated breathing, the tense muscles, Robin was smiling but it took him a long time to relax even a little in the water. Kaldur had them call it quits after about two hours even though the length of the session exceeded Riptide's travel time.

Kaldur couldn't tell if Robin was shivering because he was cold or because he was stressed or a little from A and a little from B but he felt like he'd made progress and he felt like a leader in a straightforward way that felt good. It felt like Robin was trusting him with this insecurity and that trust felt empowering.

Batman turned off the feed when Robin was wearing his sunglasses again.

Aquaman heaved a relieved sigh. "I need a drink. Preferably something stronger than beer."

Batman handed him a flask of whiskey from his utility belt wordlessly.

"Mary Poppins has nothing on you." Aquaman muttered. He took a swig. It was even his brand. The Bat would probably go swig a carafe of coffee to relax.

One more team member was left to deal with. Robin had a plan. Connor was watching static on the TV when his attention perked up. A laughing Robin head flickered across the TV screen as the team's resident hacker hijacked Connor's favourite program. Robin slid onto the couch beside Connor as a video montage of some of Superman's most embarrassing and hilarious fails graced the screen and then disappeared.

"He's not perfect. Nobody is. I won't give you or anyone a copy of that because though I thought you should see it, no one should have their mistakes held over them and glorified for all time. Hey Supes I made another video too. This one's for you to keep. Robin handed Connor a flash drive then vaulted off the couch and cartwheeled/jogged over to the zeta terminal disappearing back to Gotham.

Connor talked with Megan about the whole thing later.

"So was he trying to embarrass Superman to cheer you up?"

"Robin said he was trying to show me Superman isn't perfect. I think he picked the funny videos to keep it light."

"What was on the flash drive?" asked Megan.

"Me. Doing things. Photos and videos."

"Good things, bad things?" asked Megan. Connor was often a man of few words.

"Good things that I couldn't do at first but learned how to do," spoke Connor thinking about the secret high pitch audio message that played after the last photo. _The problem with ignoring someone is that you can only pretend success. They're still there and doing stuff and things and it can be pretty hard to miss what's in front of you._

Megan insisted on seeing the flash drive then showing it off proudly to Canary and Kaldur, then Wally and Batman and Flash and J'onn. Connor looked really grumpy about it but he watched it everytime and every now and then Megan caught his frown slipping slightly.

When Megan forgetting the origin of the drive proudly showed Robin too, Rob just grinned and pointed out his favorite parts.

The next team bonding activity went a lot better but the fragile team bond was still pulled and tested until finally.

"Half of my DNA is from Lex Luthor."

"Sportsmaster is my father."

"I'm a White Martian."

Robin's hand went up then he tentatively added his bit"...well, I kind of knew all that or found out about it at some point in time but if we're going up against the League to sort out this Starro tech mess, I do have one weakness they're likely to try to exploit that I probably ought to up front about."

"You have some big secret Robin?" demanded Aqualad. Was the whole team being held together with shoe strings and bubblegum?

"It's not a big deal but I'm without the mask I'm blind as a bat," Robin forced a grin and laughed nervously.

"You have completely missed the point of this circle of truth," snapped Aqualad. "Vision correction and glasses is not important."

Wally who'd held onto Rob's secret for years now just started giggling, sort of hysterically. "No Aqualad," sputtered Wally at last. "He didn't miss the point. If he is unmasked or even just wearing his usual shades he is legally blind."

Kid Flash just started rambling an explanation. "...as in oh my goodness that's why he wouldn't drive the car that time I broke my ankle when we were at the beach and Supes and you said you didn't know how to drive stick shift, but Artemis had been drinking pina coladas with Meg's who didn't know they were alcoholic and everyone was all ticked because we had to take a cab to the hospital which was a security risk but better than the security issues of taking a cab to back to base. Rob said he was too young to drive out of uniform but that was a cover..."

"Get to the point Baywatch!" interrupted Artemis because Kid Flash had started talking faster and faster.

"We're talking the white cane, the whole bit. The sunglasses have a little tech in them to tell him 'you're about to walk into a wall, have a nice day.' And that mask has limits. He can't use it long being the biggest limit."

There was silence for a while as everyone tried to wrap their head around this information then suddenly.

"YOU!" yelled Artemis astonished. "I, .. you,.. dog… the football team cleaned your clock!"

Robin shrugged with a sheepish grin still determinedly plastered on his face. "I can fight blind a little. Once a group has you on the floor and you're being kicked though, it gets tricky. Anything I might do to defend myself effectively could injure my attacker unpredictably."

"It would serve them right!" snapped Artemis. She understood the whole theory that the 'good guys don't kill' rule: included good guys don't throw punches they can't control, but she figured there were limits to how good anyone could be expected to be.

Kaldur thought back to the sessions with Riptide. Wait a minute… that blasted dolphin knew the whole time. Those games were really underwater spatial awareness training. No wonder Robin… Kaldur heaved a sigh. It could sometimes be irritating when the fish were smarter than you.

**I apologize in advance for the lack of beta reader. I will fix any errors pointed out to me.


End file.
